Little Plum Blossom
by HetaWriter - HetaReader
Summary: Upon the death of her parents, Mei was sent to live with her uncle; a reclusive and cold Vietnamese man named Quan. However, she loves the life she now lives with him; making friends with the water buffalo, the neighbours and even melting Quan's frozen heart. Family fic - Taiwan x Nyo!Vietnam. Rated T Just in case. Contains Nyotalia and future 2P. Possible pairings later.
1. Past the Town of the Resting Koi

_HetaWriter/HetaReader here, and yes, this is a new story - you all know by now, that if I have plans on some things, or just feel _hugely _driven to write something, I post it by now, don't you?_

_Well, I'm also experiencing writer's block, so I just wanted to try something new. This story is inspired and based on **Heidi, **which was a book I was rather fond of reading as a child. :)_

_I would also like to note that the setting is fictional. Hence why the town and city names will sound strange. ^_^'_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy. :)_

* * *

There was once a peaceful little town that stayed neatly on a layer of levelled land. However, going farther from that very place, you would see that the very same land would be stretched out into green fields of fresh, vibrant grass. Yet, if you wanted to go even farther from the fields and along a trail of dirt, you would soon find that the land would become far less even and instead, be much higher and higher, and stretched wider and wider – soon ending in several cliff sides that overlooked a beautiful lake that was _just _beyond, but not too far out of reach. There were a line of mountains that surrounded the lake, as if to provide a kind of protection to some sort of little secret.

Since you were away from civilisation, nature's own unique and fresh aroma would gently take hold of you in its grasp, and calm the very essence of your being. It helped as well that the beautiful view matched the same pleasing scent. There was fresh, dark soil that blended neatly with the crisp, green grass, and the trees that decorated the landscape, also stood tall and proud with slender branches that swayed slightly with the cool breeze – as if dancing in the sunlight, while providing friendly shelter to anyone who travelled along.

The lake itself was sparkling from dapples of the sun's rays glinting off of its surface – causing the water to glow softly in a slight light. On some of the lake's surface, lily pads and lotus flowers bloomed in a harmonious tranquillity that befit the beautiful scenery; providing their own colour to the natural painting of reality.

It would definitely have been a lovely time to go out on a boat.

However, if you happened to be there one February morning, then you would have caught sight of a young Asian woman who was hurriedly making her way up the path and through the fields.

The young woman had dark hair that reached to her hips, and matched the colours of her eyes. She also had a white flower in her hair, and wore a crimson _shangpao _with no sleeves and gold accents. She was also wearing thigh-high black stockings, and slipper-styled shoes along with black, fingerless gloves that extended to just below her shoulder on both arms.

This young lady's pace didn't cease at all - she was in a really great hurry.

The little one behind her, on the other hand, was struggling to keep up with her unbroken face; her slightly chubby cheeks becoming flamed.

Of course, with what she was wearing in such warm weather, it was no wonder why. From head to toe, the Taiwanese child was wrapped up in clothes as if it were the middle of a cold winter night. She wore two or three dresses – one on top of the other, a robe over them, a red bandana, and flat _z__ōri_ that was made from lacquered wood.

After an hour or so of steadily trekking the land, the pair had come into the Town of the Resting Koi - an average and simple town filled with people who were just going along with their everyday business.

This very town though, was where the young woman, Lanfen, had grown up.

As they continued along the way down the narrow street, greetings would flow out from nearly _every _house and shop. However, Lanfen, this did not even slow her steps. She didn't return the greeting much – only giving a simple nod of acknowledgement in return.

She was not there to visit the town,after all.

Lanfen continued pulling the child through the town and soon, they reached the far edge of it, and then reached the start of the green fields.

"Lanfen!" a voice called after the pair.

Turning around, the young Asian lady saw that the one who spoke was a Korean girl with her long hair tied back into a braid. She was also wearing a long, light green _hanbok _with large, over-sized sleeves so that her hands were not in view.

"I'll walk with you to the lake," she offered with a warm smile.

Finally for once, Lanfen stopped in her steps.

The poor little girl that she had been dragging along with her, pulled her hand out of her grip, and at once, plopped herself down on the ground.

"Are you tired, Mei?" questioned Lanfen as she arched an elegant eyebrow at the child.

"No," panted the little Taiwanese girl. "I'm hot…"

"Don't worry, it's only for an hour more," assured Lanfen, though her face still appeared a bit serious. Then, she turned her attentions onto the Korean girl that was coming out of her house.

The two older females had linked arms together, and at once and began walking up the path. Throughout this, they soon began talking rapidly in a common, native tongue; laughing and giggling soon after like a pair of old friends that were reminiscing their high school days. The Korean girl, Soo Jin, began telling Lanfen of all the occurrences that had happened in the Town of the Resting Koi, and in return, Lanfen told Soo Jin of her life working in the Town of the Singing Nightingale.

And as for the little girl, Mei?

She began trailing farther and farther behind…

"Wait a moment, Lan-Lan," piped up Soo Jin. "You didn't tell me about where you're taking that little girl. She's the daughter to your eldest _hyeong_, isn't she? The orphan?"

Lanfen nodded before replying, "Yes, she is. And I'm going to take her to live with her uncle – my older brother, and Yao's younger brother."

Soo Jin then stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at Lanfen with widened brown eyes; looking much like a frightened rabbit, "You're not talking about Quan, are you?" seeing Lanfen's serious face showing no inclination that there was a joke happening, the Korean girl cried, "Have you gone _crazy_?! He'll just send you back!"

"He can't," Lanfen responded simply, and far too calmly for Soo Jin's liking. "He _is _her uncle, and he's the second eldest of our family now that Yao is gone. Also, it's high time for him to take care of her – with Yao gone, he's the head of the family; it's about time he accepts that. Also, I've looked after Mei long enough. Sakura was an only child, and I've been offered a job in the Silver City; I can't keep Mei with me."

"But what on earth will Quan even do with a _child_?" Soo Jin exclaimed as she shook her head vigorously. "He's lived alone at the cliff side and near the lake for so long, that he's forgotten how to be civil! _Nangbi mimo! _Whenever he comes into the town, he looks so cold and pissed off, that everyone stays away from him! People are _scared senseless _of him!" the Korean girl then visibly shivered and whipped her head around to make sure that the small child hadn't heard her.

But there was no need.

Little Mei wasn't even there.

"Uh, Lan-Lan…"

Lanfen turned around and both of her elegant eyebrows arched up upon the lack of a small form. She quickly scanned the great slopes, and the vast fields.

"Hold on, there she is!" Soo Jin pointed after helping her for a moment. "It looks like she's found Lovino, Emil and the water buffalo."

And sure enough, there was Mei, who was scrambling out into the fields after two older boys and what appeared to be a herd of water buffalo of varying sizes.

"Looks like Emil's late this morning," noted Soo Jin as she put her hands on her hips. "And it seems like Lovino's joining him today. Doesn't matter – now those two can keep an eye on her; and it's about time Romulus' son takes some responsibility."

"Mei actually doesn't need much looking after," Lanfen remarked fondly as she continued along the way. "She may only be seven, but she actually keeps her eyes open."

"That's a good thing, then!" piped up Soo Jin. She would also have loved to _dearly_ include that Mei wouldn't get much looking after from being shoed under the care of Quan the recluse, but for once, chose to keep her mouth shut so as not to offend Lanfen.

Because after all, that cold, scary recluse _was _her older brother.

Upon coming across a small fork in the dirt trail, and as the land began to grow higher in slope, both of the older Asian females parted ways.

Soo Jin was mumbling something about Quan before turning left towards a rather run-down looking cottage that appeared to have people inside of it. Lanfen waved good-bye to her and resumed along the high hill to reach the small cliff's side where her older brother resided.

Meanwhile, far below, Mei could no longer see her aunt Lanfen anymore, but she worried not in the slightest. After all, the path was still in view.

Besides, she was far more interested in following the two boys and the water buffalo.

How different they both looked!

The taller one had dark brown hair and olive skin, as well as having a funny looking piece of curled hair stick out from his right side. He was wearing a dark jacket with the sleeves rolled up, and worn trousers that reached up to his knees as well as some slippers.

The shorter and younger looking boy meanwhile had tousled, silver-white hair that curled a bit more inwardly. He was wearing what appeared to be a white shirt, and had a dark brown jacket that was tied around his waist, as well as trousers of the same colour as the jacket. Mei was intrigued to see that he was wearing what appeared to be white boots as well.

What was even more interesting was that there appeared to be a bird that followed the younger looking boy. It was a black and white one that was sporting a pink bowtie.

She was quite fond of the colour pink.

Every so often, Mei noticed that the two older boys would look back to see if she was still following the both of them. Admittedly, it was hard for her to keep up with them in her heavy clothes and clumsy footwear.

Finally, having had enough and not wanting to lose them, Mei planted herself down on a patch of the green grass, and began taking them off.

First came the _z__ōri_, then next the scarlet bandana, and finally off came her dresses and finally the great robe, and soon, the little girl was wearing nothing but a white cotton slip.

Leaving the heap of clothes where they were, Mei began sprinting after the two older boys, now that she didn't have to worry about the extra weight that they added on her body, and how hot and uncomfortable they made her on that fine, sunny day, she was fast and fleet-footed.

Mei leapt over a bush, surprising the two boys when she landed right in between them when they seated themselves on a log.

"Hi, I'm Mei!" she greeted cheerily with a big beam.

To say that both boys were startled was an understatement.

The older one with the darker hair and the curl gave a scream of _'Chigi!' _or something among those lines and bristled, while the younger one with the lighter hair actually jumped off the log after giving a yelp, and landed on his front. His bird was squawking in alarm and flapped its wings about.

The older boy looked down at Mei's new get-up, and turned his head to see that there was a pile of clothes that were lying in the grass a little way away. He couldn't help but feel a bit amused at this.

That was probably what led him to crack a little smile at her.

"_Ciao_, the name's Lovino," he said in a noticeable Italian accent.

The younger boy brushed off himself before coming to his feet. He arched an eyebrow at the little girl standing before him and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Emil," he said in a slightly shy voice, his voice also laced with an accent, but nothing at all like Lovino's.

Even with children, he still wasn't good with strangers.

"And this…" the bird flew down and perched onto Emil's arm. "Is Mr Puffin."

"How ya doing?" the bird questioned in a gruff, male voice in an accent that sounded a _little _similar to Lovino's. This caused the Italian to wrinkle his nose.

Mei giggled, "Really well!" she then asked both Emil and Lovino rather curiously, "Do all of these water buffalo belong to you?" Her light brown eyes were shining in curiosity.

"My _nonno_ owns a couple," responded Lovino as he pointed them out. However, upon seeing the slightly confused look on the little girl's face, the Italian quickly spoke up again; realizing that the little girl wouldn't understand pieces of his home tongue, "I mean! My grandpa; my grandpa owns some of them."

"My family only owns one," responded Emil as he rubbed his head. "I'm just the herder."

Mei looked quite impressed – she had never met one of those before.

"I just go with this guy because I'm bored."

Emil snorted at his older Italian companion, "Yeah, right; because I need your company…"

"What _that _supposed to mean, _bastardo_?"

"Do you know my auntie, Lanfen?" Mei questioned next, not paying attention to the slightly heated banter between the two boys. Now, she was starting to wonder if she was even going in the right direction. Lovino, Emil, Mr Puffin and the water buffalo had wandered further away from the path after all. The two boys seemed to be choosing their own way along the land; taking the bovines past the best bushes, shrubs, patches of grass and to the much cooler spots of the lake it seemed.

"No," Emil shook his head.

"But if she was going along the trail, the she's probably going up to see paddle bas- I mean, Quan," spoke up Lovino as he quickly cut off a word upon seeing that Mei was just a little girl.

"I'm on my way there myself, too," added Emil.

And so, Mei followed both Emil and Lovino – soon running around the great forms of the bellowing water buffalo. After a rather short amount of time, they all rounded a turn.

And there was Lanfen; standing in the path with a hand rubbing at her head as if she were experiencing a headache of some sort.

When she caught sight of Mei, she perked up, and her hand immediately placed onto her hip as her eyebrows knotted down into a scowl.

She did _not_ look so happy.

"What on earth have you been doing, Mei?!" demanded Lanfen sharply. "And where on earth are your clothes?! And the new _z__ōri_?!"

"Over there," Mei pointed in a rather calm fashion to where her clothes laid.

Emil and Lovino turned to look to where she was pointing at, and could see a tiny red speck in the distance, which was the red bandana that Mei was sporting before.

Lanfen heaved a heavy sigh after looking at the pile of clothes, and fixed her gaze onto Emil. "Go and fetch Mei's things for me, would you?" she said rather abruptly.

"I'm already late as it is," Emil replied as a frown crossed his young features. He really didn't like it when someone spoke to him in a rather bossy tone like that.

Lanfen glowered at the younger male, "Excuse me? I'm sure it won't take you _that _long of a moment to get a pile of clothes."

Before Emil could retort, Lovino quickly spoke up, "I'll go get them for you, _signorina_." He flashed the boy a warning look before not wasting another moment to do the deed.

Mei couldn't help but marvel at the fast speed that Lovino was running towards the clothes – he was sprinting at a quickened pace and seemed to match the wind itself as it flapped against his hair.

While Lanfen and Mei continued up the path, Emil followed them with the water buffalo around him. And soon, Lovino had also quickly caught up with all of them just as a small cottage was coming into view.

This cottage stood quite proudly on its cliff top and was exposed to every bit of wind and ray of sunshine that fell down upon it. The roof appeared to be strongly thatched, and the walls were sturdy and strong despite how slightly worn the resources that made it appeared to be. Behind the cottage, there stood a great tree – its large branches provided as a source of shade for a smaller hut nearby, as well as the front part of the cottage. The smaller hut nearby appeared to be as sturdy and firmly in place as the cottage.

The cottage's front door was closed and locked with a strange padlock. But that mattered not.

Because it was empty.

How did they know this?

It was because they could hear a sharp noise of someone chopping wood in the small hut nearby.

Mei tilted her little head and squinted her eyes a bit to get a closer look of the person who was inside of the hut, and see what they were doing. She was the first one to reach the hut as she ran forward, interested in seeing the figure inside properly.

* * *

_Rather short, but I have a feeling that the chapters will be pretty short due to time constraints and life being busy. Also, this is just a little thing to relax with. XD_

___[Characters]:  
Mei [Taiwan]  
Lanfen [Nyo!Hong Kong]  
Soo Jin [Nyo!South Korea]  
Quan [Nyo!Vietnam]  
Emil [Iceland]  
Lovino [S. Italy/Romano]_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Have a pleasant day. :DDD  
_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	2. The Golden-Eyed Dragon

_A bit more of this story first before I go back to doing some work. TT_TT_

_Anyway, thank you very much **Ayumi Kudou **for the review. :)_

**_Ayumi Kudou:_**_ Shame you haven't read Heidi. It's a sweet little tale, really. :D that's an interesting mix - German/American/Greek. I'm just plain Asian (Filipino/Chinese =^w^=.)_

"Speech" = normal speech

_'Speech' _ = thoughts

_"Speech" = _other language

_"**Speech**" = _emphasized speech

* * *

The figure that was inside of the little hut appeared to be a man from behind.

He was wearing a pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and darker trousers with their own legs rolled up to his knees, as well as a pair of sandals that appeared worn. He was rather tall (though it could also be simply because Mei herself was rather small), with broadened shoulders, but a rather average-sized torso and a narrower waist. His head was bent down a bit, and he stood on two firm legs that were slightly spread apart. The elbows appeared slightly pointed from the Taiwanese girl's point of view, but his back was towards her, so she couldn't tell what he was doing. There was a _tiny _scraping sound that was coming from him of something sharp making contact of wood.

Mei tilted her head a little at first; wanting to have a better look at the man's face.

Sensing that there were a pair of eyes settled upon him, the man paused from what he was doing or a moment, and turned his head as well as part of his body around on a slight degree so that he could see who the intruder was, yet at the same time not strain his neck or show what he was doing and what was in his hands. Blinking, he eventually looked down and caught sight of the little Taiwanese girl standing before him.

Mei gazed up at him – his face finally in view, and his details were starting to slowly sink in.

Already, from looking at him, the Taiwanese girl could see just the _slight _resemblance he had to her father. His dark hair, slightly longer eyelashes and the somewhat flattened nose were unmistakeable, as well as the chin.

However, at the same time, Mei could definitely see that he looked far different to her father.

For one thing, his face was a bit longer than his – he also had more defined cheekbones, and a thin pair of lips that were clenched in a taut line; her father had a more youthful looking face with a slightly fuller face, and lips to match that would curve into a nice smile. Another big difference was that this man's eyes appeared much sharper – they were far more narrowed and their hues weren't the same, either.

Those eyes reminded Mei of the gold she once saw when she and her mother walked by a jeweller's store before.

However, the eyes that were glaring right down at her in silent contemplation weren't shining at all like the gold she saw before when light glinted on their surface.

These eyes appeared more…glassy and slightly hollow. And with a hint of a darkened fleck that sparked slightly from time-to-time.

The man, her uncle, didn't really say a word to her even when he stared right down at her. A little slightly unsure with the lack of words that came from the man, Mei stretched out her hand in his direction. "_Ní __hǎo__ ma, __shūshu_," she greeted.

The man didn't say anything in response.

At first, Mei thought that maybe this man wasn't her uncle Quan – the one who auntie Lanfen said she would live with from now on, as well as being the brother to her father. But after a moment of pondering and gazing at the girl up and down, the man finally responded back.

"Well, well, well…and what could _this _be, I wonder?"

His voice was also more lower-pitched than her father's as well, and it sounded rather blunt to other onlookers. However, there was something rather calming about it to Mei, and the Taiwanese girl could detect that there was something – _something_ she couldn't name, but there was just _something _that she heard in his voice, and it made her intrigued and inclined to stay obedient, as well as behave.

There was some sort of tone or some kind of note in his pitch, but it made her remember her father.

Honestly, before coming out here, she wouldn't admit to everyone else, but she _was _nervous in coming – it had been a long time since her parents had passed away; a few years in fact. However she knew that they wouldn't want her to cry and continue being miserable; they wanted her to be happy, as well as help anyone who tried to help her, yet at the same time, be more watchful of herself and be cautious since life seemed to like throwing unexpected things right at her.

So instead of being afraid, Mei just stared right back at him; blinking her big, brown eyes a little bit more.

"_Jóusàhn_, _gēge_," Lanfen said politely as she entered the hut, coming up behind Mei. "I've brought our niece. Yao and Sakura's daughter."

The man gave a snort before turning back to what he was doing. Again, Mei tried to take a closer look, standing on the very tip of her toes to see what was in his hands, but she was being held down from her shoulders by her aunt. From what the little girl could see in her position, it appeared that her uncle had a blade and was cutting at something with it.

"And? What am I supposed to do with her?"

However, when he looked up momentarily, he caught sight of Emil, who was standing behind Lovino, who was hiding behind Lanfen. The two boys were observing from their spots to see what was going to happen next between the two Asians.

Upon catching sight of them though, Quan visibly bristled and an irritated spark had ignited in his once glassy golden orbs.

"_You_!" he called abruptly at Emil, causing him to flinch slightly. "You're none too early. Go get along with the water buffalo and take mine, as well."

Emil didn't dare hesitate.

He placed his fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle for the water buffalo, and immediately left the hut.

There was no way that the boy wanted to get Quan in a fouler mood.

Lovino however stayed put; still wanting to know just what was going on. Obviously, this young woman knew Quan, and that alone was interesting in itself. The Vietnamese man was practically a hermit – shutting himself away from everyone else. The Italian's grandfather had said however that Quan wasn't always like that, and there should _obviously _have been a reason as to why the Vietnamese man shut himself away, as well as not like the company of other people around him. And so, Lovino, though pretending not to care, had begun wondering on what that very reason was with Emil.

Today could be that very day in finding out just what that reason was.

"She is going to stay with you, _gēge_," Lanfen said firmly, giving Mei a little shove so that she was closer to the man opposite them. "I have looked after her for four years, and now it is your turn."

Quan's eyes narrowed, however they glanced _just _briefly at Lovino, who tensed under the older man's stern gaze before settling down slightly onto little Mei who was still staring up in curiosity at the man rather than fear. How the little girl wasn't afraid of the Asian man's stare, the Italian knew not – he himself felt his knees trembling just being in the same room with the guy.

"_Em đã nói gì?_"

Lovino inwardly cursed – now there was _no _way that he could understand what was going on, now.

Lanfen narrowed her eyes slightly, though to say that she herself didn't feel that unpleasant crawling sensation of fear creeping around in her entire being, would be a lie. She knew it wasn't a good thing to be afraid of a member of your family, but the way he looked down at her and glowered with those spiteful golden eyes…

She felt as if she herself came face-to-face with a dragon.

Still, she responded in her own home tongue rather than in the same tongue that the man opposite her was speaking to her in. And likewise, he spoke in his own tongue right back at her.

Regardless, Lovino couldn't understand what on _earth _the two were talking about, which frustrated him, but he didn't dare show it outwardly. Instead, he stood closer to Mei and brought her back a little bit, because by now, the two elder Asians were speaking rapidly, and it became apparent that the both of them were discussing a much touchier subject seeing as how Quan's once composed and stoic face morphed into one of a growing ire, while the there was a slight glint of nervousness that began to grow in Lanfen's brown eyes.

"_**And what if she starts to whine, cry and nag at me? That's what little, sheltered and unreasonable creatures do when they're thrown into a new environment. **_**Then **_**what do I do with her in that case?**_"

"_**That is your business, brother.**_"

If looks could kill, Lovino would've dropped dead at that instant just upon catching sight of Quan's eyes.

Lanfen herself stiffened at that glare that was aimed directly at her. The Vietnamese man's gaze was so chilling and pierced right at her, that it took her entire self-control to suppress the cold and unpleasant chills that ran down her spine, which tried to make her shiver.

However, when he slammed down what he was holding, he turned his whole figure around, fully facing her, head on.

Because of how abrupt his action was, Lanfen couldn't help but react and take a step back from him. She began to wonder if she really _was _right in leaving little Mei here with such a cold and terrifying man. But just when she could properly find her voice and possibly change her mind now, Quan had stabbed a finger at the dirt path.

"_R__a khỏi nhà ta ngay lập tức_."

Lanfen's eyes widened a bit, "_Néih góng mātyéh wá?_"

Quan's eyes narrowed even more, and if it was possible – he looked angrier than before. Lovino couldn't help but squeeze onto Mei's shoulders and bit his bottom lip as his curl trembled in fear just like his own being.

Mei herself on the other hand, wasn't sure as to what was going on – she couldn't understand what her uncle was saying, and the majority of the words that her aunt had uttered as well was far too fast for her to keep track of. She could tell that the topic was serious though, considering how the two adults looked far from smiling.

"_Bạn nghe tôi_," Quan said coldly as he raised his head, looking down at the younger woman. "_Ra khỏi nhà ta ngay lập tức_." He then hissed a few more words, but this time, finally in English.

"I don't want to _ever_ see your face again."

Lanfen licked her lips, rather shaken from his harsh words, but quickly complied seeing as how only a little bit of his temper was already viewable – more of it should not have to be witnessed by Mei. So, the young Asian woman placed the bulging bundle of Mei's clothes onto the ground before turning to her Taiwanese niece and embracing her. "Good bye, Mei," she said softly.

"_Zài jiàn_, _ge-ge_," Mei responded simply.

And with that, Lanfen took a deep breath, stood up and let go.

She fled from the hut so Mei and the young guy with her wouldn't have to catch sight of a few rare tears to actually start at the corner of one of her eyes.

Then she started running down the dirt trail as the wind began beating at her form and whistled in her ears; seemingly mocking her for how shaken she was. Even the sun's rays were glaring down at her, as if in disappointment for leaving the little girl with her older brother. Sprinting in an exceedingly swift speed, she headed straight through the town; not breaking her pace at all. All the while, her head was bowed, and her eyes were hidden behind her dark bangs.

She didn't dare look up to meet with anyone's eyes.

That would be the trigger to initiate contact, and she didn't want that right now; what if they began to ask her about Mei and her whereabouts? What could she say in response to such questions?

If she did tell them, they would most likely look at her in horror. She could already imagine just what the people would say to her: _"How could you do such a thing?! You heartless woman! The poor girl…"_

When she finally entered the train and it began humming as it went along the tracks, Lanfen's shaking finally began to cease, and she felt a little better.

She knew that soon she would have a good job, and thus would make more money. And soon, it wouldn't be long before she could find a much better and suitable place for her small niece.

* * *

"_**I don't want to **__**ever**__** see your face again."**_

* * *

Those words still rang in Lanfen's mind very loudly and drummed harshly upon her mind and eardrums. She bit her bottom lip as she gazed down at her wrung hands that were gathered in her lap.

His voice and eyes scared her the most.

Such anger and deep revile that burned from within his eyes, and that venom that hissed in his voice…

Just what happened to him, Lanfen wasn't too entirely sure. From a young age, Quan was already so quiet and reserved; he preferred doing things by himself, and never seemed to like being around people or having people around him. She remembered that their mother was worried about his continuing display of anti-social behaviour and how different he was compared to her and Yao, but never had the Vietnamese man, in all their years together, had reacted so bitterly and harshly in their youth…

* * *

"_**You absolutely cannot and **_**will **_**not!" a woman's voice shrieked angrily. "I forbid it!"**_

_**The boy was furious. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "**__**Tôi ghét bạn**__**!" before stabbing the kitchen knife into the chopping board that he was cutting fresh produce on earlier.**_

* * *

Lanfen bit her bottom lip as her brown eyes widened slightly upon recalling that _one _little event. However, she began squashing down the memory that tried to play in her head; it was far too heated and intense for her at the moment – she was severely weakened emotionally from her own brother's harshness and tongue.

So, with her eyes shut to maybe catch some rest as the train continued to move on, as her mind wandered on into the job that was given to her, and what kind of things she would see in Silver City.

Her thoughts though soon morphed into a surreal dream as slumber finally came and grasped hold of her. In her dream, Lanfen caught sight of a little princess with a tiny crown on her head that was running and twirling around a great, green, grassy field that as decorated with a collection of vibrant patches of flowers. She removed her crown for a moment and laid it on the grass to place a wreath of finely constructed daisies upon her head.

But that was when all of a sudden, a dragon began emerging in a slow and sinister fashion towards her.

Its jaws were snarling; revealing curled lips and sharp, white fangs that were the size of a man's arm. Its horns were twisted and bent backwards and its whiskers were long and floating behind it in an ominous manner as its long, lengthy body curled inwardly then outwardly every so often. Its great claws were shaped like a sickle's, and the scales were a cold pale blue that glinted in a glowering glare.

However, it wasn't the fearsome fangs, nor the cold claws that unnerved Lanfen the most here.

It was the beast's eyes.

They were golden and inside of them, an inferno of hate, spite and bitter feelings was twisting around and around, until it seemed as if its own eyes were no longer eyes anymore, but rather two balls of fire that were glowing in the sockets.

Lanfen had tried to call out to the little princess; to try and warn her about the creature that was advancing towards her. She even tried to wave her arms around madly so as to try and gain her attention. When the little girl still didn't seem to pay attention to her surroundings, Lanfen began to run towards her when she saw that the dragon was getting closer and closer to her.

But alas, to her horror, she saw that she wasn't getting anywhere – the little princess was the same distance away from her as she continued to pick some more flowers around her, and gathered them in a neat, tiny bouquet.

All the while, the dragon was becoming nearer to its prey.

When it reached her, it raised a claw and its eyes then settled down upon her for a moment. However, its fiery eyes then darted upwards to settle on Lanfen, causing the young woman's heart to stop beating in her chest as her brother's voice suddenly played in her head.

"_**And? What am I supposed to do with her?"**_

The dragon gave a low, rumbling growl as it narrowed its eyes to dangerous slits as its claw stopped in the air for a moment. Its whiskers and tail however continued to sway and float around a bit more as the whole scenario stayed frozen for a moment.

That was when Quan's voice played again, cold and callous.

"**Then **_**what do I do with her in that case?"**_

And that was when the dragon gave a terrible roar that made Lanfen's hair stand on end, and her bones to rattle in alarm. The great beast then brought its claws down right on its helpless little prey…

Giving a gasp, Lanfen jerked awake and looked around a bit before taking a deep breath and placing a hand over her bosom.

Her heart was beating again.

* * *

_Second chapter completed. :) but now I have to work on assignments...;_; _

_But yes, there _is _a reason as to why Quan is like that, but that gets touched upon a bit later. ^_^' _

_[Translation - in order]  
__Ní __hǎo__ ma, __shūshu [Mandarin] = Hello, uncle.  
__Jóusàhn_, _gēge [Cantonese] = Good morning, big brother.  
__gēge [Cantonese] = big brother  
__Em đã nói gì [Vietnamese] = What did you say?  
__R__a khỏi nhà ta ngay lập tức [Vietnamese] = Get out of my house right now  
__Néih góng mātyéh wá [Cantonese] = What did you say?  
__Bạn nghe tôi [Vietnamese] = You heard me  
__Zài jiàn_, _ge-ge [Mandarin] = Goodbye, aunty_  


_________I most likely got some things wrong, though - I can't speak Vietnamese or Mandarin, and I'm not so efficient at Cantonese, either...TT7TT feel free to correct my mistakes._

_________Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Have a lovely day. :DDD_

_________Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	3. Little Bear and Uncle Dragon

_Back with more. :)_

_BIG thanks goes to: **xXBlueSariaXx **for the fave; **Ame Akuhei **for the follow; and **Ayumi Kudou **for the review! :D_

**_Ayumi Kudou:_**_ Ah, okay. That's pretty cool - so are you fluent in German? I actually want to go to Austria and Switzerland someday. And Turkey. :D my best friend and I arranged to one day see each other's home country - he's already seen the Philippines, so I have to bring him to China one day; in return, he has to take me to Spain, Italy and Mexico. 8D what is Monaco like? I've heard it's quite pretty, but it's small compared to some countries. 0w0 thanks, I was actually trying to pinpoint her character a bit. XD_

_Read on~_

* * *

Once Lanfen was out of sight down the dirt trail, Lovino chose that time to excuse himself; completely shaken from the displays of anger that Quan had unleashed on her. The Italian quickly patted little Mei's back, silently muttered something that suspiciously sounded like, _"Good luck…"_, then hurriedly departed from the little hut.

Quan didn't seem to care that he had left.

When seeing his younger sister gone, Quan had already turned back to what he was doing before. He grabbed hold of what Mei could see to be a blade, and he was resuming with what he did before he was interrupted. The Taiwanese girl herself didn't seem to pay much attention when Lovino had whispered some words to her; she simply blinked.

After getting a good look at her uncle, Mei wanted to take a good look around his home.

First, she looked around the small hut that they were both in, and noticed for once that there was a rowboat that could fit three or four people. The red and white paint that covered its surface appeared to be fading at some parts; even peeling a little, however the simple looking vessel itself appeared to still be strong, sturdy and intact. There were two oar paddles settled from inside of it.

Looking to the back, Mei could also see that there appeared to be some sort of a larger shed behind it that was out of view when she first came. Coming towards it, she could see that it looked like some sort of stable that had a fresh bed of chaffed hay. There was also a fence that appeared handmade.

After looking at the shed, Mei then began to circle the larger cottage, and soon found the great tree that had kindly gave shade to the entire property.

It stood proudly in its spot – its huge branches dotted with thousands and thousands of mottled green leaves that completed the vibrant shades of green around the lake. They swayed slightly in the cool breeze as if making a slow, graceful dance, and when the winds began to blow more strongly, it whistled harmoniously and roared slightly through the array of high branches.

Mei had stopped in her tracks and gazed up at the magnificent tree. She softly shut her big, brown eyes and stood still so she could listen more properly to the sound that was being played right before her.

It almost seemed as if both the tree and the wind were conspiring together to make some music for their audience of one.

Once the wind died down and the natural melody was concluded, Mei began to stroll around the rest of the cottage. Upon completing a lap around, she found that her uncle was still in the exact same place and still placing his focus on that one little thing he was doing before.

Coming towards him, she stood by his side and looked up.

This time, she could see that the blade he was holding appeared to be a carving knife. And the Vietnamese man was carving out of a piece of wood. The shiny blade smoothly dug into the wood as some of its skin peeled off and landed on the table, a little thump followed quickly by a soft slicing sound as the block soon began to take shape into something curved and rounded.

Quan could feel the pair of eyes focus on him again, but at first, he decided to disregard it in hopes of the child not laying her attention onto him anymore and just go do what she wanted instead of bothering him. However, when the intense gaze would not subside and still fixated upon his figure, the Vietnamese man paused from his carving and his golden eyes darted to the side right onto her.

She only blinked right up at him through big, brown eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked, probably a bit too roughly, even for his own liking.

However, his tone of voice didn't deter or frighten Mei one bit. Instead, the Taiwanese girl replied, "I want to go see what's inside."

"Inside?" he turned his body a little bit more and arched an eyebrow.

"Your home," Mei responded.

Quan stared down at her for a little while, but he carefully placed down his carving knife and the piece of wood that he was working on. "Very well, come on, then," he said as he stepped past her, exited the hut, and walked towards his home. "And bring your clothes," he added as he opened the door.

"But I don't need them anymore," Mei said to him.

The Vietnamese man turned his head in a sudden degree and stared sharply down at her. The Taiwanese girl however didn't seem to regard his glowering. She began to step on her tippy toes as she tried to look past her uncle's larger figure to see what lay inside the cottage. Her bright, brown eyes were sparkling with a tremendous amount of curiosity.

"And tell me; _why _won't you need them?" Quan questioned.

"I'd rather go like the water buffalo," Mei replied in a plain voice.

Quan gave a slight snort, but his usually glassy golden eyes appeared to have some sort of spark that ignited in them. And it wasn't the furious one that he kindled on Lanfen before. From its more subdued yet bright tone, it appeared to be more from amusement if anything. "So you shall, then," the Vietnamese man remarked. "But still; just bring them in so they can be put into the closet."

Mei grabbed the bundle that was her clothes from inside his work hut, and when she came over, Quan stood to the side and held the door open so she could step inside of it. Little Mei found herself inside a rather large room with a wooden floor and what appeared to be a several number of bamboo pillars that seemed to help reinforce the roof up to keep the cottage together. There was a little mat in the middle with three slightly olden cushions and a black tray as well as a brown one were placed in the middle. A few tapestries that had oriental patterns that consisted of intricately woven flora and fauna were hanging around the walls. There was what appeared to be an old guitar stood in the corner beside a wooden shelf and a three-legged stool. Plates, cups and silverware stood neatly on one of the shelves, while another held a loaf of bread, some smoked meats, some cheese, and tea bags were at another. A little fireplace with a kettle hanging in one corner. There were two rooms as well; one was slightly open, and Mei could spot what appeared to be a mattress that was a little leaning against one of the walls. The other room's door however was shut tightly.

Opening the door wider to the room to his room, Mei followed her uncle inside and saw that the mattress had a woollen blanket as well as a single pillow. Along the far wall was a set of thatched drawers and a shelf filled with several books, and also a large closet. Stacked nearly on one shelf of the closet were shirts and linens.

As soon as Quan opened the closet door, Mei rushed inside and placed her bundle of clothing into the far corner. Then, she came back into the great room. "Where do I sleep, _shūshu_?" she inquired.

Quan shrugged one of his shoulders nonchalantly, "Wherever you want." He honestly didn't care, though he would be rather weirded out if she chose to sleep close to the fireplace.

Mei however was delighted at hearing his response. The Taiwanese girl immediately began to look around every nook and cranny of the cottage until she reached a ladder that was in the room that was shut tightly. The door had led to some more compartments and drawers as well as a simple bathroom with a working tap and toilet.

Upon climbing up the ladder, Mei found a separate room that appeared to be a loft. Funny enough, it had great piles of sweet-smelling hay in it. There was also a large, square-shaped window that overlooked the lake. There was also what appeared to be a few boxes that were shut tight in the empty room.

"I'll sleep here!" Mei called down the ladder. "It's so beautiful! _Shūshu__! __Shūshu__, come and see it! The lake is so beautiful!"_

Quan blinked before shouting back, "It's okay – I already know all about it!"

"I'm gonna make a bed!" Mei said as she rushed back and forth to gather armfuls of the hay. "But I need a cover – do you have a cover for me to sleep on, shūshu?" the Taiwanese girl made a rather neat little bed beneath the window so she could gaze out at the lake and the mountains and cliffs surrounding it.

When he finally came up the ladder and into the loft, Quan arched an eyebrow in slight surprise at the bed the little Taiwanese girl made, "That bed is rather nicely made," he commented. Before he put the cover he got over it however, he first gathered a great armload of hay, and made the bed double the amount of thickness as it had been before. Then, he helped Mei place the heavy covering over it.

Mei tapped her chin in thought as she looked at the cosy bed, "We're forgetting one thing – it needs a blanket so I can go under."

"Really now?" questioned Quan as he placed a hand on his hip. "And suppose that I haven't got one?"

Mei then gave a shrug from her little shoulders, "It's okay. I'll just use some hay." She was about to gather up some more of the golden straws, when Quan stopped her. He was able to leap down by effectively skipping a few runs on the ladder, and came to his own bed. When he came back upstairs, he returned with the woollen blanket that had laid on his own bed before.

"Wouldn't this be better than hay?" he inquired as he spread it out on top of the bed.

Mei clapped her hands, "It's perfect! I just wish it was night already, so I could lie on it!"

"Wouldn't you want to have something to eat first?" Quan asked, the amused glint in his eyes starting to glow a bit brighter and bigger at seeing the little child's excitement.

Mei then realized that she was so eager to lie down in her newly made bed, that she had forgotten everything else. Now, since she was alerted of it, she could hear a little grumble emit from her pleading little stomach, and unsurprisingly, she felt very hungry.

After all, the journey to her uncle's home was pretty long – about two hours, actually – and it had also been a long time since she had her breakfast of weak tea and hasty toast.

The pair climbed back down the ladder, and Quan dragged the three-legged stool up to the fireplace. He then started a fire, and hung the small kettle over it. Then he placed a large piece of cheese on the end of a long, metal fork. Next, he moved it back and forth over the fire; all the while, his golden eyes concentrated onto the morsel of food. It wasn't long before the fire turned the piece of white cheese toasty and with golden tinges.

Mei simply watched by his side with her brown eyes sparkling in awe. Suddenly, sparked with an idea, she rushed over to the shelves.

By the time Quan brought the cheese and kettle to the mat and the tray, when he found that there had already been a round loaf of bread, two plates, two cups, and two knives were already set on the brown tray.

"I see that you can think for yourself," Quan noted as he sat down cross-legged on one of the cushions. "However, there is still something missing…"

Mei hurried back to the shelves where only two glasses and one bowl were the only things remaining. She gathered, and brought them back to the mat where she seated herself beside her uncle on one of the cushions; mimicking his cross-legged seating posture.

"Good," said Quan, the glimmer of amusement in his eyes now fused with approval. "And the food is ready, too," he filled a bowl with milk, and placed it close to Mei. Then, he laid a slice of bread as well as a large piece of golden cheese. "Now, eat."

Mei picked up her bowl of milk; the liquid was very white and beautifully smooth. She drank, and drank without stopping, and once it was gone, she set the bowl down and took a deep breath of contentment.

"Do you like the milk?" questioned Quan.

"It's so yummy!" beamed Mei widely; her big, brown eyes glowing. "It's the best milk I've ever tasted!"

Quan gave a small snort, however it was plain to see that he looked satisfied at hearing the Taiwanese girl's answer. "It is water buffalo's milk," he said simply. "Would you like more?" seeing her nod vigorously, the Vietnamese man obliged while she tried the bread and cheese.

A strong, yet slightly sour and tangy taste had spread out on the little girl's tongue, but the smoothness of the texture was a beautiful balance to it. And with the bread, it tasted delicious.

Once the meal was over, Mei followed her uncle Quan to his little workshop in the hut that she had first seen him at.

There, he began to work.

He carefully cut three small sticks of the same size with a saw, then made a large circle from a board with great precision. He then expertly cut holes into it with a larger blade, and finally stuck the sticks into the holes, and turned it over.

"That's a stool," Mei remarked; impressed at how fast her uncle worked. "And you made it yourself so quickly!"

"It's for you."

The Taiwanese girl's eyes widened, "For me?"

"So you won't have to stand while watching me sit and cook over the fireplace."

She clapped her hands in delight and twirled around the Vietnamese man as he carried the newly crafted piece of furniture inside.

When the sun began to subside down the horizon and shine more of its intense rays over the lake's surface, the cool gales picked up again, but this time, blew even harder in the branches and leaves of the great tree. The sound that was being produced by both elements of nature was so lovely, that Mei ran outside and danced beneath the tree's great being, and in its cool shadow.

Throughout the whole thing, Quan couldn't help but watch as his little niece played around. The corners of his tight lips soon began to curve upward…

…but soon her laughing had changed; becoming older sounding and deeper in pitch, as well as sounding more rich in tone.

The image before him also changed – morphing from a little Asian girl in a simple cotton slip, to a tanned woman in a summer dress.

Quan jerked from his spot when Mei also stopped her jumping around when both of their ears picked up a shrill whistle from the front of the hut. Mei sprinted around the cottage to see the herd of water buffalo coming up the dirt trail.

Emil was there, too.

Mei rushed out to greet one of her friends from that morning, and was also patting and stroking the muzzles of one water buffalo after another. The great creatures didn't seem to mind the sudden display of affection, in fact; it appeared that most of them quite liked the attention that was paid onto them.

When the herd reached the hut, two water buffalo stepped away from the others, and walked straight towards Quan. One was black and looked very strong with a fine, muscular body as well as great horns and its head held high, while the other was dark brown and appeared a little smaller and slightly plumper. The brown water buffalo was lightly nuzzling on Quan's shoulder as he scratched the back of their ears.

"Are they yours, _shūshu__?_" Mei questioned as she came forward and stroked each of the two water buffalos in turn.

Quan gave a simple nod in response, "Yes, now go and get your bowl and the bread."

Mei happily obliged, and when she came back, she saw her uncle squatted down and milk the brown water buffalo, filling the bowl. He then cut up a piece of the bread, and gave both it, and the filled bowl to Mei. "Eat your supper, and get to bed – I must see to the water buffalo. Sleep tight."

"_Wǎnān_, _shūshu__," _Mei called as she scampered inside._ "__Wǎn__ —" _she then stopped and ran back outside. Looking around, she saw Quan lead the two water buffalo towards the larger shed that was behind the hut that provided as his workshop. She raced over to the three of them.

"What is it?" he asked with slightly widened eyes this time; he hadn't expected her to come back outside.

"What are the water buffalos' names?" Mei questioned in response.

Quan's shoulders relaxed upon hearing the question and responded as he stroked the muzzle of the dark brown one, "This girl is Thuy." He then scratched the black water buffalo at the base of one of its great horns, "And this boy is Hung."

_"__Wǎnān_, Thuy! _Wǎnān_, Hung!" Mei said loudly, giving the two water buffalo one last pat and stroke before going back inside to eat her dinner.

Once her meal was finished, Mei climbed back up into the loft, which was now her room. She crawled under her blanket, and sweet slumber had come taken hold of her rather quickly. She was sleeping so soundly in her cosy little hay bed and snuggled warmly against the blanket and the cover, that she did not seem to hear the wind howling around the whole cottage and against the tree's branches, as if the two were now in a squabbling little argument over something.

When he came back inside, Quan had sat near the fireplace for a little bit more, watching the flames flicker and linger around as he silently began to think. In all honesty, he thought that Mei would be scared. After all, she was just a little girl that had not only lost her parents at a young age, but had moved into a new place that was _far _different to the town or city that she lived in before. Also, he wasn't exactly the most well-liked person around, either – he knew that everyone was afraid of him and kept their distance from him. He never cared to what they thought, though – they didn't know him, and they didn't want to know him, so why should he care about them, anyway?

Yet Mei seemed to not care about that at all; either that, or nobody ever told her that he was notorious for being cold and reclusive. And she seemed to be happy with where she was as well…

As the fire continued to burn a bit more, and he gazed right at it with slightly hazed golden glass orbs, he began to see images flash in his head upon recalling the little girl dancing and twirling around as she played near the great tree that provided as some company out back.

And all too soon, he could see the flames gather shape, and he could see a figure dancing in it again, batting their beautiful eyelashes at him while smiling a bright and wide smile…

Shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut, Quan thoroughly extinguished the fire so no sparks or flints of ember would ignite again, and he climbed the ladder to peer over the edge of the loft to check on his niece.

Soft rays from the shining moon spilled through the large window onto the Mei's dark locks, as well as he young face. Her mouth was curved into a little smile as she continued to sleep peacefully.

Quan simply stared down at the slumbering child for a little while more until he could see the moon disappear for a moment behind a light grey cloud. His golden eyes then darted to the side and caught sight of the few piles of boxes that lined up against the wall, and he gazed at it with a rather impassive expression that suddenly passed onto his face. He scanned the boxes a little bit more – taking in every detail; the tape that shut its lids tight from opening, and how cluttered the pile looked in comparison to the more neatly stacked items that were downstairs.

It was as if the boxes were closed hastily and were merely thrown and just left there to never be seen again.

'_That was my intention in the first place, anyway…'_

He silently crept back down the ladder, making sure not to miss any runs so as not to produce a number of noise that would accidentally stir Mei, and sauntered to his room where he could finally settle within his own bed and push his thoughts of the boxes out of his mind.

* * *

_This chapter was a little longer compared to the other two, but it's more because it's Mei first time with Quan, and he's shown he's not really a cold and excessively stern person like how he was with Lanfen. The reason won't be touched until later, but feel free to guess it. =^w^=_

_Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated - good day to you. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	4. At the Lake of the Lotus

_I better get some sleep now, but here's another chapter for you guys. :)_

_A BIG thanks to: **AnimeGirl19984 **for the fave and follow; **pandasareawesome333 **for the follow; **amichalap **for the fave and follow; **xXBlueSariaXx **for the review; and **Ayumi Kudou **for the review._

**_Ayumi Kudou:_**_ I'm a sucker for relationships where one person melts from a frozen exterior all thanks to another person (be it lover or not). Yes, it's rather sad, but yes, Mei's parents died from a very young age. Ah, okay - I'm not really into casinos that much; I don't personally see the appeal in gambling. I'm really glad my friends don't do it. Haha, I wouldn't be able to get into that casino, anyway. XD_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ Yes, he is progressively warming up to her. :) but he's also facing something else. 0w0 thank you; this was something I wanted to experiment on - because I usually write pairing pieces, I wanted to try a more familial fic. :)_

_You may continue. _

* * *

The next morning, a shrill whistle resounded around the great lake.

Mei cracked one of her brown eyes open, and caught sight of glints of the sun's rays trickle and pour into the loft from the great, square-shaped window. By the way that the gleams of sunlight shone and glinted off the bales of hay, it appeared to look like strings of gold to the little Taiwanese girl.

For a small moment, Mei wasn't exactly sure where she was and what happened. However, upon hearing her uncle's voice speak rapidly in his native tongue (that she _still _couldn't understand), the previous day's events instantly came back to her, and as a result, she perked up in her warm, cosy bed, and leapt out of it. She quickly dressed up in her simple cotton slip, and scampered down the ladder.

Emil and the herd of water buffalo were already outside, accompanied by Lovino. Thuy and Hung were emerging from their homely shed, but were with Quan.

Mei ran up to greet them all good morning.

"Ah, you're finally awake," remarked Quan as he petted both of his buffalos on their heads at the base of their horns. "Would you like to go with Emil, Lovino and the water buffalo?" Upon hearing that, Mei's beam widened and she nodded enthusiastically in excitement. Quan nodded, "Go and wash first, or else the sun will just laugh at you." He pointed to the direction where the bathroom was.

The bathroom was rather simple – thatched walls that were tightly tethered together, and there was a small white tub with funny legs, and a basin that was on a stand. There was also a toilet while a fan was on the wall opposite. When Mei had splashed around and washed herself clean and refreshed, she ran back to her uncle where he was loading Emil's sack with extra food.

"Take care," he said calmly to Mei. Lovino could see that though the Vietnamese man's face and voice were impassive, there was a little glint of concern that shimmered momentarily in his usually cold golden hues, but it subsided as quickly as the Italian had seen it ignite. Quan then turned his gaze to both the boys and this time, his eyes were frozen with extra layers of ice that caused the both of them to stand straighter and hang even more onto his words. "Fare well, and give Mei a bowl of milk when it's about twelve noon."

Emil swallowed the lump in his throat, but gave a nod while Lovino was behind him. The whole herd of water buffalo then started up the trail.

Quan said nothing when he saw them leave, but it wasn't until after all of their forms disappeared, when he moved from his spot.

Mei bounded ahead with Hung watching her, and she stopped every so often here and there, to stare and gaze in admiration at the flowers that decorated along the green fields; creating a beautiful palette of colour around. There were some tiny groups of pale pastel pink blooms that were growing softly by larger rocks while there were specks of gold in varying hues – from a bright butter like colour, to the same honey-like hue that matched Quan's eyes.

The Taiwanese girl soon began picked flowers of every shade, hue and size, and carried them in her skirt. She swiftly ran around here and there so quickly, that both Emil – who was used to keeping track of the water buffalo – and Lovino sometimes had trouble finding her.

They both knew though that if they _did _end up losing Mei, they would most likely never live to see the next day if they returned to Quan empty-handed.

"Hey, if you pick them all up today, there won't be any of it left tomorrow!" called Emil while Lovino couldn't help but give an amused chuckle at the little girl.

Everyone continued along until they reached one of the edges of the lake. Here, the water buffalo began grazing on the tufts of green grass or drink their fill of the fresh water, as Lovino planted himself on a rock while Emil stretched himself out in the sun to get some rest. Mei placed her flowers in the lunch bag, and took a good look around.

She already saw what the lake was like from her spot in the loft at her uncle's house, but here at ground level with it, gave it a much more different perspective, and it seemed even more beautiful than before. The sun was shining proudly up in the clear blue sky, and as a result, hints of its rays were sparkling on the lake's surface, making it glow. There were lotus flowers and lily pads that were growing on the lake's surface, and provided a great source of colour as well, yet appear intricate in a rather simplistic style. Across from the lake, there were larger mountains and what appeared to be a piece of land with an array of beautiful scarlet flowers that blossomed.

Mei couldn't help but stare at the red flowers and how they swayed around when the wind played with them; it appeared as if the red plants were dancing around. The Taiwanese girl hadn't seen flowers like those around in the fields, and wondered what lay on the land across from the lake. Mei drank in the warm rays of sunshine that stroked all of them, and for some reason, she felt inexplicably happy.

A few times, Mei spotted a fish or two that would swim around in the lake while overhead, there were birds that flew by. In particular, there was one jackdaw that flew overhead them all.

Its piercing cry startled Lovino; causing him to wake up from his little siesta and look around frantically to make sure that Mei was still with them.

Emil remarked tonelessly, "You don't have to worry; it was just a jackdaw." He was beginning to unpack their lunches.

While Emil milked Thuy, Lovino came over to get Mei who was still leaping and twirling about; playing around with the water buffalo.

"Oi, _signorina_, quit your jumping for a moment and come eat already!" Lovino said with a slight chuckle when Emil finished milking – Mei's bowl was filled with the pure white milk.

Mei herself was so taken away by the lake and her curiosity on what lay on the island across, that she couldn't eat all of the bread and cheese her uncle had packed for her. When she had eaten what she could and her stomach was satiated, she pushed the rest over to Emil. "You can have the rest," she said as she wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm really full."

Emil's response was his violet eyes widening; he really wasn't sure what to say. Never in his life had he been full enough to give food away – he lived in a rather big family, and it was hard to feed everyone despite the fact that they all tried to work as hard as they could to earn enough.

Finding his voice again, the boy cleared his throat, "I…I can't. Really, I can't. It just wouldn't be right…" he cursed the little stutter he made in his mind.

Mei shook her head, "No, it's okay! Have some."

Seeing Emil's hesitation, Lovino rolled his eyes at the younger boy as he paused from eating the pasta that was in a container of his own. "Oi, ice boy, just accept it already," the Italian said. "This is a little girl _begging _you to eat her crap. Just take it, already!"

"Please," Mei insisted upon seeing Emil's hesitance. "It's for you."

Emil found his whole face erupting, but because his two human companions wouldn't stop poking him, he finally gave in. He hesitantly took the food and looked away, still rather embarrassed, "Thank you…" he murmured.

Lovino sniggered at the boy's expression, warranting a sharp glare while Mei giggled.

The Icelandic boy tried to muster a smile back at her in gratitude. Upon taking a bite of the food, a pleasant flavour spread out on his tongue, causing it to tingle, and for a warmth to flow throughout his whole body, as well as feel a great sense of relief. And soon, his own belly was as full as Mei's and Lovino's. Emil settled back with Lovino to observe Mei play with the water buffalo.

"What are the water buffalos' names?" Mei asked the two older boys.

Lovino didn't know _all _of their names, but Emil did. The Icelandic boy was only thirteen, but he had actually been herding and watching over the water buffalos for a good several years. He would collect them each morning in the Town of the Resting Koi, and take them back home again each night. Lovino only joined the Icelandic boy a few times, but apparently he had work to do at home. But considering that he was older than Emil at age seventeen; that was really no wonder.

Mei ran back and forth among the water buffalo and petted their heads or stroked their muzzles while Lovino and Emil followed her. When Mei patted the water buffalo, Emil would call their name in response.

There was Wei; a large darkly coloured water buffalo with great horns and seemed more muscular and larger than Hung. He was always nudging and pushing the smaller water buffalo around. Then there was Bianco; a white and more slender water buffalo that looked like was one of Lovino's family's. He would charge at Wei several times, even though he was not as finely muscled as he was. And there was a little light brown calf that would bellow so much, that Mei wrapped her arms around her. This one was named Nisha.

"Why does she keep on crying?" Mei questioned Emil, her brown eyes filled with concern.

However, Lovino was the one who gave the explanation, "Her mama was sold to someone else, so she doesn't come to the lake anymore."

"Basically," Emil said lamely, though he scowled slightly at being interrupted.

"Aww, don't cry!" Mei said gently as she stroked the calf's neck and scratched the back of her ears. "Don't worry – I'll come up and join you every day so you won't be lonely anymore."

Upon hearing the little Taiwanese girl's answer, the calf suddenly quieted down, and all of a sudden, rubbed her head against Mei's shoulder.

Out of all the water buffalo, Thuy and Hung were the finest and most well looked after. Even Lovino admitted it, and Emil thought that was the case.

"It's because your uncle washes and grooms them very well," said Lovino. "And he also cleans their stables quite well, and feeds them the proper food."

Emil nodded, "Yeah; and he takes them out to the lake a few times himself when he doesn't want me to look after them."

After talking about and playing with the water buffalo, Mei still couldn't help but stare at the land opposite where they were and across the lake. The red flowers that were swaying and dancing around had their petals shimmer with the breeze so it looked like there were sparks of crimson in the breeze that moved around every so often. Unable to contain her curiosity, she questioned both Emil and Lovino about it. "What's over there?" she inquired as she pointed.

"To be honest…" Emil gave a shrug. "I'm really not sure; I've never been there before – it'd be too much time to get over there, and then by the time I come back here, it'd already be well into the night."

"I think my _nonno_- I mean! Grandpa, said something about that place," Lovino stated as he scowled a little while his amber eyes fixated on the flowers, too. "He said that the red flowers weren't always there…"

His two younger companions looked at him with widened eyes, "Really?"

Lovino nodded, "_Sí_, _sí_. They weren't always there before, but they started growing there about…several years ago."

"How long is several?" asked Emil, now quite curious himself. He hadn't seen _everything _around the lake, and the thought of things he hadn't seen yet interested him.

"About…seven or eight years ago?"

Mei tilted her head and stared at the land opposite; her inquisitiveness intensified just by the Italian's words. She wondered if she could pick some of the flowers there and see what else lay there.

All too soon, the sky began to change colour as the green fields were tinged with slight oranges as was the lake's surface due to the sun setting. The jackdaw from before gave another squawk.

Lovino then realized something. He poked Emil's shoulder, "Taking about birds, where _is _your puffin, ice boy?"

"Back at home," answered the younger boy, though he was a bit annoyed with the name he was given. Usually, Lovino would dub with him with another name, but both knew that it wasn't kid-friendly. "Mr Puffin is a bit sick – he ate some stale bread by accident because Mathias wasn't able to throw it away yet when he bought the new one."

Everyone started their way back; leaving the lake behind.

Mei really didn't want the day to end – she felt as if it came to a close far too quickly. Everything had been perfect and beautiful to her, so of course, the little Taiwanese girl was sad to see it go. However, she followed Emil, Lovino and the water buffalo through the fields and back to her uncle Quan. A few times, Lovino offered to carry her, but she politely declined each time; insisting that she was okay with a smile.

Seeing that the little child _did _appear just fine, the Italian realized that though Mei looked so delicate and small, she was actually pretty lively and healthy. And she looked so happy, too – he wondered what went on under Quan the recluse's roof.

Especially because Mei didn't seem to be afraid of him at all, and he even had hints of concern that was laced in his usually cold and dead eyes.

As for Quan himself, he was actually sitting outside his cottage; waiting for the herd to return. Thuy and Hung walked quite calmly over to see their master, and consume the oats he held for them in his large, callous hand. However, he turned his head down to look at Mei. "Did you have a good time?" he questioned.

"Yes!" Mei beamed brightly. "Definitely! I'll never forget what I saw today for the rest of my life!"

"But you can just see all of it again tomorrow," stated Emil.

Mei's heart instantly leapt for joy and hearing the words, and she turned to look up at her uncle hopefully. "Can I? Can I really, _shūshu__?"_ she asked, with her hands clasped together.

Quan gave a snort; his little sign of amusement. "Of course you can," he replied.

Though his response sounded a bit blunt, it was music to Mei's ears. She jumped up and down in delight and hugged both Emil and Lovino as well as Thuy, Hung and even her uncle.

Lovino was blushing slightly, but he gave a chuckle at patted her head. Emil's pale face meanwhile was completely red.

As for Quan himself, he became frigid in shock.

However, he didn't push back at the warmth that circled around his waist.

Gazing down at the little girl, he blinked; rather unsure it seemed of what to do at first. Lovino and Emil watched him closely to see what he would do next, and saw that he didn't really do anything back – he didn't push her or hug her back, he just…stood there in a bit of a daze.

Yet it was an interesting discovery.

When they left, Mei began talking quite rapidly in mixes of the tongue she was accustomed to, as well as in English. "It was great up there!" she exclaimed excitedly. The little girl looked like she would burst, "There were so many pretty flowers and there was a black bird and a lake with really pretty flowers on them, as well as land across from it with red flowers-"

"Yes, yes," Quan said as he raised a hand to signal her to stop for a moment and breathe. "Now, why don't you go and wash yourself first while I go and get some milk. Then you can tell me all about it during dinner."

Seeing her nod happily in agreement and skip away, the Vietnamese man couldn't help but recall the last two words that the Taiwanese child had said to him. While he was preparing to milk Thuy, he was surprised to find that his hands were becoming rather shaky all of a sudden.

"…"

Hearing a low bellow, Quan looked up to see that Thuy and Hung were gazing at him intently; it was as if the two beasts were expressing their concern for their master and friend.

Quan gave a sigh and rubbed at his forehead.

Then he started milking.

* * *

_Chapter draws to a close. Next one will be up tomorrow. :D_

_What is Quan wondering about? What is the story about the land across the lake with the red flowers?_

_Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated - have a pleasant day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	5. Winter's Two Separate Visits

_Some more of **Little Plum Blossom**. Chapter is a bit longer this time. :)_

_Anyway, BIG thanks goes to: **loaleKelina **for the fave AND the review; **Mihang **for the follow; and **Ayumi Kudou **for the review. :D_

**_Ayumi Kudou:_**_ It interests me how some kids are able to cope without parents, while others are so depressed that you can't help but embrace them. ;w; I think it just depends on the age of the person, the time the death happens and the child themselves. One of my closest friends has one parent gone, but it happened when he was very young, so he still wasn't really that sure about the idea of death just yet. My own social skills are not that great, to be honest. ^_^' I'm far more talkative online. :) mosquitoes drive me nuts, too - there's a lot of them in the Philippines, and I always come home with four or five bites. TTnTT yes, those are casinos. :) G-rated casinos. XD_

**_loaleKelina: _**_Thank you; I'm glad you like it thus far. =^w^= I wanted to try something other than a pairing fic for once; more on family because family is just as important. :D ahh, thank you for alerting me with that - I changed it. ^_^' my Chinese isn't really that great; I prefer listening and understanding rather than talking, reading or writing it. TT7TT if I make anymore mistakes, please alert me. :D_

_Continuing, continuing, continuing..._

* * *

Each day after that, Emil would come to Quan's house as the sun peaked over its horizon. Most of the times, Lovino was there, too.

And on each of those days, Mei would go with her two older companions and the water buffalo to the lake.

The lake's fresh and crisp air made the little Taiwanese girl breathe in relief, and rejuvenate her senses. She became strong and healthy. Lovino would bring a parasol to shade the three of them from the sun's gentle, yet ongoing rays that tickled down upon them. Mei however didn't seem to mind the sun, and she was just as happy and chirping along like the songbirds that were in the trees.

When the seasons changed and autumn approached, the playful winds soon grew more aggressive – blowing harder, longer and louder. They would howl as they raced through the fields until one day, Quan approached Mei before she could slip her slippers on.

"Stay home today," he said in a firm voice. He was afraid that Mei would be blown around by the harsher gales like a rag doll.

Both Emil and Lovino were _not _happy that their younger companion was joining them.

They both enjoyed having Mei play around them at the lake. Lovino had always wanted a younger sister, while Emil felt more at ease with her around. He also, though he was embarrassed to admit it, liked to share her lunch. And finally, the water buffalo somehow were always on their best behaviour when she was around, and even helped the two boys watch her at times.

Mei herself however was not really that disappointed.

She loved to go to the lake with Emil and Lovino and she loved to play around with the water buffalo, but she also had as much fun staying at home with her uncle. She loved watching him hammer, saw and work with all sorts of materials at his workbench, or prepare rather pretty, round cheeses that were made from Thuy's milk.

She also liked joining him when he worked with clay; she sat on his lap as he formed a shape with his hands out of the earthen material.

More than anything though, Mei was delighted to hear the breeze fly through the large tree's leaves at the back. When her ears caught the sound of the rustling and roaring of the wind in the tree's mottled leaves, she would stop with what she was doing, and run outside to stand, dance and twirl around beneath them.

The seasons soon started to change, and it became cold.

It was so cold, that Emil had to blow on his pale hands to warm them whenever he stopped at Quan's house to get his water buffalos. Lovino wouldn't come during those times because he was busy and had other work to take care of. Meanwhile, most of the time for that, Mei would even hand the Icelandic boy a cup of steaming coffee that he would guzzle down before going out in the cold.

Then one day, Emil didn't come at all.

For outside was filled with a blanket of white and not a single bit of green showed.

Mei watched the little snowflakes fall softly down from her window – the thick flakes floating down for days on end. The snow only got deeper and deeper, until it almost fully covered the glass.

Fortunately, Mei was warm and snug inside Quan's warm and cosy house.

When the snow stopped at last, Quan had gone outside to dig a path from the door. No sooner had he finished and thrown more wood into his fireplace, when he heard a loud pounding on his door, and some stamping outside.

Opening, he saw that Emil was knocking the snow form his boots, while Lovino's teeth were chattering and his curl was trembling like his whole figure. The both of them had trekked through the snow to see how Mei was doing.

"Afternoon," Quan said curtly as he let them in. Lovino almost cried in relief when he approached the fireplace. The Vietnamese man gave an amused snort in the Italian's direction, then fixed his gaze onto Emil before asking, "And how is the little general now that his water buffalo army has deserted him? You must be rather busy pushing the pencil."

"Push the pencil?" Mei looked puzzled as she brought some warm, soothing tea for the three males before her. She then turned to Emil as well, "Why do you push a pencil?"

"Because it's winter," Lovino responded as he gratefully took a cup of herbal tea. "Ice boy's gotta go back to school. There, the kid learns to read and write English; ain't that right, ice boy?"

Emil scowled, though his cheeks were a little flamed, "Yeah, that's right. I don't mind speaking English, but reading and writing it…it's a lot of hard work. There are so many rules. I'd rather be with the water buffalos."

However, this ignited a lot of questions for Mei about school. She spoke to her two older friends all afternoon as they warmed themselves in front of the fire. However, it was soon time for both Lovino and Emil to leave and go back home.

"We'll come back next Sunday," promised Emil as the both of them were on their way out the door.

"Say, _signorina _Mei," Lovino spoke up. "You should come and visit."

Emil however seemed a bit apprehensive with the idea, but nodded in agreement; his family, though he loved them a lot, tended to be a rather…_odd _kind of bunch.

Mei never really thought about visiting anyone before, but she liked the idea a lot. After talking to Emil and Lovino, they all agreed that the little Taiwanese girl visit Emil's house first since he lived the closest, and wouldn't tire her out first.

Which was why, the very next morning, Mei bounded up to her uncle, "Is it okay if we go and visit Emil and his family?"

Arching an eyebrow, however upon looking down at the Taiwanese girl's pleading face, the Vietnamese man gave a shrug as he looked outside, "It seems fine. Very well, then. Come on."

The hut that Emil and his family lived in wasn't that very much far from Quan's house, but it was still a reasonable amount of time to walk and get there. Several times, Quan would look down at his niece, but be surprised to see that she still had a little spring in her step and was the one who waited for him.

When they both finally reached the hut, Quan urged her towards the door, "Go on in. When it starts to get dark however, it is time for you to start on your way home." Mei nodded in response as she watched her uncle go on his way back home.

Opening the door, Mei saw that the inside of the house had many rooms, however they were all small and rather run-down. Mei walked through what seemed to be the kitchen when she caught sight of an old stove, and reached a room with an aged, worn-out carpet that was on the floor, and a small fireplace that had weak flames in it. There, she saw that there were two men: one was rather young-looking with short, pale blonde hair and violet eyes as well as having a slightly fuller face and round shoulders, and wearing a white beret. The other man appeared a bit sharper with light, blonde hair and dull sapphire eyes, as well as a curl that was miraculously floating beside him.

Emil himself came in later, rubbing the back of his head and looking a little tired. However, upon seeing Mei, he stood straighter as the two blondes turned to face the person who came inside their home. "You actually came," Emil said in slight surprise.

Mei nodded happily, which then prompted the shorter blonde to speak, "Ahh~ so _you _must be Mei! Emil's said a lot about you."

"That he has," agreed the taller and sharper looking blonde as he came to Emil's side and patted his shoulder. Mei couldn't help but notice that standing side-by-side, two looked similar somehow. Emil however was flushing furiously – his pale face now a very rosy red.

"I am Tino," the shorter blonde said with a warm smile as he offered his hand. Mei immediately took it and they shook it, "It is nice to meet you in person, Mei!"

"And I am Lukas," the other blonde said in his rather deep voice. He also shook hands with the little girl, and he gazed at her intensely with his eyes. Mei returned the gaze – staring right back at him.

"What time are Berwald and Mathias coming home?" Emil questioned.

Mei wondered who the two were, who her friend was referring to, when Lukas gave a nonchalant shrug, "Who knows when that fool comes in. Berwald, I'm not so sure…"

"He's working later than usual tonight," said Tino a little sadly. "He's trying to earn more…" he then heaved another sigh when the shutter began flapping around. Hurriedly, he ran over to it and tried to close it as he grumbled in a language that Mei couldn't understand. "And the shutter's acting up again…"

"As of everything in this house," muttered Emil.

"We can't exactly afford a new one," pointed out Lukas. "Houses cost so much nowadays."

"Just focus on your studying, Emil," Tino said with a weak smile. "Then maybe you can get a good-paying job, and someday we'll all be able to afford a new house and some proper rations for each of us."

"I'm trying, but it's so hard," Emil grumbled.

"School?" inquired Mei. Seeing the Icelandic boy nod, the Taiwanese girl then began to wonder just how hard it really was – it sounded _extremely _complex if Emil didn't seem to enjoy it or find it easy, to her.

"It is not easy to read and write English," remarked Tino as he went to the fireplace and tried to ignite the flames some more. "Speaking seems easier, though…"

"Speaking is a better way of communication after all," said Lukas rather tonelessly.

Mei had stayed and listened to the older adults talk while she sat beside Emil on the old rug. They were discussing some more, but this time in their home tongues, and it was in a rapid discussion that she couldn't follow, not that she understood what they were talking about. Several times throughout their conversation though, Mei noticed that there were all sorts of creaking and rattling that were coming from the house – it seemed far too old and she wondered if it would even hold.

"Enough about us," Tino then waved a hand. "How about you, Mei? How are you finding it? Living with your uncle Quan?"

The somewhat spacey look that appeared on the Taiwanese girl's face immediately disappeared upon the mention of her uncle. A big beam spread out, and she began to chat happily about her life with her uncle – how he was very skilled with tools and creating things from all kinds of material, and how he made nice cheeses from Thuy's delicious milk.

Lukas had crossed his arms throughout the whole thing and gave a slight nod, "Well…Emil tells me he takes care of his water buffalo exceptionally, so…" he then went up to the shutter and firmly closed it again so it wouldn't rattle around.

"Indeed," Tino said with a laugh, though it sounded slightly nervous. Really, he had heard of all kinds of things in the Town of the Resting Koi in relation to the Vietnamese man – that he was a harsh and strict man who was also as cold and bitter as a windstorm in winter. However, he was rather young as well apparently, to which a lot of people had said that the youth he gained was very much wasted on such a frosty and bitter personality. Tino had tried to ignore the words and rumours – he wasn't one for gossip, however it couldn't help but still make him feel slightly nervous.

Especially after seeing that one Asian lady who came towards Quan's home, suddenly ran away from it not too long after, and about to be in tears, too!

Lukas himself wasn't one for gossip, either – he had asked several people the few times he came to the Town of the Resting Koi about the reclusive Vietnamese man, but from what he learnt; nobody had the guts to go to him and strike a conversation. They were all afraid of him due to how cold and angry he always looked.

However, this always intrigued him instead.

Especially with the adorable little girl standing before him.

He began to wonder what her uncle really was like – she looked so happy to talk about him, and spoke of only positive things about him. If a child stayed with an angry and cold person, Lukas would unsurprisingly believe that the child would no doubt be either scarred, in tears, or have run away by now.

It made him all the more curious, however he couldn't just go and see Quan himself – he was still a stranger, and Lukas was very shy around strangers.

When the time came, Mei bid Tino and Lukas goodbye, and Emil helped her get back home, to which they encountered Quan halfway.

The Vietnamese man thanked the Icelandic boy and he went home with his little niece who was chatting to him all about her experience with Emil and his family. Quan listened to her every word since he didn't tend to go anywhere further than the lake itself; but from what he heard – two other members of Emil's family hadn't come home yet.

Still, the two that Mei _did _meet seemed like nice people.

When they reached back home, upon seeing how silent and pleasantly quiet, as well as warm and toasty, the cottage was, Mei was then struck with an idea.

She tugged the hem of her uncle's shirt, "_Shūshu__!"_

Quan paused for a moment and darted his golden eyes to look down at her, "Yes? What is it?"

"Tomorrow, let's take your tools and fix the shutter at Emil's house! We should take some nails, too. Everything creaks and rattles there…"

"Fix them?" Quan quirked an eyebrow. "And who told you so?"

"Nobody," said Mei simply. "I just know it – because everything is so loose, and they cannot fix it themselves."

Quan gave Mei a rather long look; staring down at her intently with a very impassive expression. It was at this time, that Mei then realized with amusement, that her uncle and Lukas seemed to have such a similar dissonance. After a little while of pondering, Quan gave a shrug, "Very well, then. Tomorrow we must."

And so, the next day, Mei and her uncle walked over to Emil's house and while there was chatter going on between the two young ones, Lukas and Tino offered their existence to Quan, who quietly rejected it; seemingly knowing what he was doing by himself.

It was also at that time that Lukas was able to observe him more closely.

Quan himself worked his way around the cabin; pounding hard in a nail here, and another one over there. Before long, he ran out of nails, but he came back the next day, and the one after that. However, he and Mei only stayed until it became dark, to which they both departed home so that they wouldn't have to wait for the night's more unforgiving gales to come and beat down on them.

So Mei and Quan never did see Berwald or Mathias during that time. However, they were described thoroughly by Emil, Tino and Lukas.

With how hard and quickly Quan was working though, it took him only four days to finish.

And by the time he was finished, the cabin that held Emil and his family, had stopped creaking and rattling entirely.

After visiting Emil, and fixing his cabin, Mei then remembered that Lovino was also expecting her to come and visit sometime. So that was why she bound over to her uncle, who was in his workshop, and exclaimed, "I must go to the grandfather's today; he's waiting for me!"

However, Quan shook his head, "Not today, it's far too cold." However, seeing that sliver of disappointment on his niece's face, made him feel a little odd.

Mei asked again the next day, and the one after that. Not a day went by that the little Taiwanese girl didn't say at least once, _"I really must go to the grandfather's house today – he's waiting for me to come."_

At last on one day, Quan nodded, "Come along, then."

He then led Mei to a rather large and wide sled that fit his entire being, and possibly another of his size. He planted himself down upon it, and Mei climbed into his lap.

Then, he wrapped his small niece in a heavy, woollen blanket, and pushed off.

The sled shot like a bullet through the white snow, and everything appeared to go by in a quick blur. Mei could feel the cool winds from the great speeds slightly tap at her young cheeks, and for a moment, she felt like she was flying.

But before she knew it, the sled had stopped in front of Lovino's house. It was still a considerable distance away from the Town of the Resting koi, but it was certainly looking overhead and in sight.

When he unwrapped Mei, Quan told her like before when visiting Emil, "When it starts to become dark, it is time for you to start going home." Seeing his niece nod, Quan nodded in return, and began pulling his sled back homeward bound.

Upon opening the door to Lovino's house, Mei came into a room where there were some paintings hanging on the walls, as well as a great fireplace with a huge blaze burning brightly from within it, that warmed the whole house. She also saw that there was a little boy that was younger than she was who looked remarkably like Lovino except his hair, eye and skin were of paler shades while his curl rested on the opposite side. The boy was wearing a white bandana as well as a tiny apron, and he was sewing on what appeared to be a large rip on one of Lovino's jackets, while an older man sat in the corner on an ancient, stuffed couch. He was deeply tanned and had dark brown hair with two wild curls that sprung out from the upper right side of his head, as well as the lower left. His eyes were gently shut, as if contemplating.

"How do you do, grandfather?" Mei said as she smoothed her long skirt and walked up to the older man. "I am Mei. I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

The man's slight frown then relaxed to a fond smile as he gave a sigh, "Please, _signorina_, just call me Romulus. Ah, _sí_! The little one who is staying with Quan." He then felt around until he found Mei's soft and small hand, to which he gripped very gently in his larger and much rougher ones. "Feli!" he called to the boy. "Come over and tell me what the little _signorina_ looks like."

"Hold on, let me open the shutter," Mei spoke up before Feli opened his mouth. "Then you can see for yourself." She pulled gently on the older man's hand, "Or we can go outside in the bright snow – it's not that cold, really!"

Romulus shook his head, though he couldn't help but smile at the child, "No, no, little one." He then leaned a bit forward and lowered his head, but he didn't appear to look at Mei.

It seemed as if he was staring straight ahead.

"No light will ever shine in my eyes again," said Romulus. "You see, _signorina_, I am blind. I will therefore never see again."

Mei had never heard of such a thing happening, nor could she imagine not being able to see the beauty that nature had given before her. She didn't cry often, but upon hearing the man's words, a myriad of fat tears poured out from her eyes and down her young cheeks as she began to cry.

"_Ve_~! Don't cry!" Feli said in a really squeaky voice as he got up from his spot and went over to the little girl, hugging in a rather tight embrace. All the time though, Mei didn't let go of Romulus' hand.

Hearing the crying, Romulus himself pulled her a little closer. "Come now, little one," he said gently. "There is no need to cry. Now, let me tell you something – when a person can't see, they find great comfort in hearing beautiful words. It would make me _very _happy to hear you tell me about your life with your uncle Quan."

Mei gave a sniff and wiped at her eyes in an attempt to dry them. Then, she began to tell Romulus all about her life at the lake, and with her uncle. She spoke of the fields of flowers, the swaying trees, the cool winds and the beautiful lake that had lotus and lilies on its surface as well as the little island opposite it. She told him about her uncle's amazing skills with tools and all the sorts of materials he had – wood, glass and clay – and also spoke of how carefully he cared for his water buffalo and made his cheese.

All of a sudden, Mei's story was interrupted by a loud thump at the door.

Lovino stormed inside the house looking rather irritated. However, when he saw Mei, his whole figure seemed to lighten.

"Is that you, Lovi?" Romulus questioned. "Back from work?"

Lovino came to stand by his grandfather, "_Sí_, it's still the same, though…"

Romulus sighed, but reached around and patted the Italian's arm, "Very well…I just only hoped that there would be some change."

"Why should there be a change?" questioned Mei. She knew nothing about reading in English.

"We came here not too long ago, you see from a different country. However, our tongue is not the native tongue around here. Lovino has learnt how to speak the language, but he cannot read or write it, sadly. I only hoped that Feliciano might learn to read so he could read me the beautiful hymns in my book – so Lovino is working harder now to pay for Feliciano's schooling, and hopefully get a raise for himself, too. I lost my original, but I was able to buy an English copy of it before I became blind, and it has been so long since I have heard them."

Feli handed Mei a thick, yet small book with a hardened velvet cover and pages that were beginning to yellow.

"Let me fetch a light so you can look at it," offered Lovino. "It's getting _really _dark out there."

Suddenly, Mei remembered the promise she made to her uncle and jumped up. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I really have to go!"

"Already?" Romulus questioned as he quirked an eyebrow. "_Mio Dio_, how quickly time flies now! Lovi! Go with her and make sure she gets home safely."

Lovino nodded as Mei bid Romulus and Feli, whose real name was Feliciano, good night before she pulled on her jacket. But before the both of them could reach the door, the door itself opened.

Quan had chosen to come instead.

He wrapped Mei in a blanket, gathered her up in his strong arms, and started his way home.

Feliciano watched from the door of their house, and told his grandfather exactly what he saw.

"_Grazie a Dio_ that Quan is very good to her," Romulus said. "I hope he will let the little _signorina _come and see us again."

Meanwhile, Mei was _bursting _to tell Quan all about Lovino's blind grandfather and the book that Feliciano showed her, so she decided to wait until they were back inside her uncle's warm home.

However, she was gladder at the fact that the blind Italian grandfather's house wasn't loose and shaky like Emil's.

* * *

_[Characters]  
Tino [Finland]  
Lukas [Norway]  
Berwald [Sweden]  
Mathias [Denmark]  
Feliciano [Chibitalia]  
Romulus [Ancient/Grandpa Rome]_

_Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Pleasant day to you. :DDD  
_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	6. Note: (Please Read if Following)

_Greetings, HetaWriter/HetaReader here..._

_Well, sadly this isn't an update. But I can't do them for now...or the following week or possibly a little longer than that, I really don't know. I have to go to China quickly because I just found out that there's family business going on. Serious family business. I'd rather not go far into detail about it, but long story short; my grandfather passed away._

_Again, I deeply apologize; I wouldn't be surprised if this sounds hollow to you or like an empty promise. But, really I sometimes get the feeling that I'm letting people down because I can't fulfil my want of expressing and showing something that I wholeheartedly love doing during the time that I want. But I hope you can find it somewhere in yourself that you can forgive my tardiness and be patient, and maybe during that time away I can find it in myself to not beat myself up too much._

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_

_P.S. - I have posted this note on all of my stories still in-progress. But, to sum it up, here are a little series of previews on what will happen in the next chapters:_

* * *

**_A Tail For Two Legs: _**

Kasem couldn't help but give a sad smile from the front door as he gazed out onto the beach. His golden eyes were fixed on his Vietnamese cousin who was sitting all alone on the golden shores - patiently waiting for his red-tailed lover to return home to him.

"He's still waiting?" questioned Yong Soo as he and Mei came up to his older cousin's side.

The Thai man nodded, "Yes. He's been there since Antonio left, ana."

Quan himself simply stared out into the distance of the salty waters; his honey-gold orbs scanned slowly and carefully around the surroundings of the environment to look for any sign of shimmering, scarlet scales or glittering, golden fins. The Vietnamese man leaned his body forward - resting his chin on his knees as he continued to examine the sea in that same calculated manner. He wouldn't budge from his spot; no, not until Antonio came back home to him safe and sound.

So for now, he'd wait.

Yes, he'd wait for days if he had to.

_'Come home soon...'_ he thought quietly to himself. _'And be safe...'_

* * *

**_Fly High! Maple Version:_**

From behind one of the dressers, Matthew could see a pair of big, bright brown eyes peering nervously. When the Canadian boy's eyes fixed on the little thing, it gave a sudden squeak and darted behind the dresser some more.

Lovino clearly noticed this; he arched an eyebrow and asked, "What the hell was that?"

Here, Roderich heaved a sigh, "_That _would be Minccino."

Gilbert then bent down and roughly picked up a little ball of fluff by the scruff of its neck. The little Pokémon was revealed to have grey-coloured fur, with more more scruffs on it on its head, the insides of its larger ears, and neck. Its limbs were rather small and rounded, while its tail on the other hand, was long and particularly fluffy. Right now, it looked utterly frantic as it flailed and thrashed around in Gilbert's grasp as it squealed, "Minccino! _Minccino_!"

Matthew immediately opened his Pokédex to take a look, "_**Minccino, the Chinchilla** Pokémon,_" said the mechanical voice informatively. "**_Minccino loves shiny things, and will use its tail as a brush to clean any objects that are dirty. They greet each other by grooming one another thoroughly with their tails."_**

"Feisty little thing, are you?" Gilbert gave a wicked grin as he leered in the little Minccino's face. "_Kesesese!"_

All of a sudden, the little Chinchilla Pokémon flinched upon locking eye contact with the Prussian man that was holding it. Minccino then scrunched its tiny nose up, and its brown eyes were swimming with big, fat tears. Unsurprisingly, it began bawling its eyes out as it started flailing around even more in Gilbert's grip - almost desperately. Needless to say, everyone was rather shocked from Minccinio's reaction - everyone that is, except for Roderich who simply heaved a slightly exasperated sigh and shook his head instead. "Brilliant, now you have frightened Minccino," the Austrian musician said; voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I didn't do anything!" snapped Gilbert, though he looked understandably confused and a little panicked - he honestly didn't know what to do with crying Pokémon. Especially ones that were rather tiny like the one in his hand. "Hey! Stop crying; what'd I even do?!"

Lovino then spoke the obvious, "Your face and weird-ass laugh scared the poor little bastard, that's what."

"My face and laugh aren't weird-ass or scary!" exclaimed Gilbert. "They're awesome! And you, quit crying already! _Mein Gott_, quit using Fake Tears!"

* * *

**_HetaVoice: _**

It is a nice, calm and lovely afternoon – the sky was becoming mixtures of the colours blue, pink and gold blending together. The sun was shining very brightly up in the painted sky as it was progressively beginning to set past the horizon's point.

A long, red carpet stretched out to a massive building that stood proudly with the HetaVoice sign in the form of a great statue of silver and platinum components.

Right at the steps, which was at the end of the red carpet's straight trail, a _very _familiar Romanian man with strawberry blonde hair and red eyes, was this time wearing a green trench coat with his usual little top hat perched upon his head.

He gave a wide beam; revealing he had rather elongated canine teeth as he tipped his hat in greeting to the camera, that was now focused on him. His crimson eyes were flashing mischievously. "Hey everybody, and welcome to this episode of HetaVoice!" the Romanian man said cheerfully; obviously in really good spirits here. "I'm your host, Dracul Dalca!"

The camera then shifts into a far, high shot that shows the Performance Stage that is tinted night blue and bathed with plenty of blaring, white lights that shone overhead, eventually settling onto four big, red chairs that turned to face the camera, each with the four Judges seated there in a low angle shot. In front of their seats were big, shiny, red buttons that were on black podiums.

_A/N: __I've also developed a new writing format, so I'll rewrite the previous chapters as well, and hopefully it'll be revamped._

* * *

**_Little Plum Blossom:_**

The seasons had run around the corner i such a fast pace at the lake. Mei herself was growing - she was becoming stronger and bigger, and she was blooming into a rather pretty, little girl; she fit like a puzzle piece of a jigsaw, whenever she was frolicking and dancing around the colourful patches of flowers.

Once three winters had left, a teacher from Emil's school had sent word that Mei should come to the Town of the Resting Koi and attend school. However, Quan knew very well that his niece was very happy with her life at the lake. Strangely enough, he also didn't want her to leave, either. So, with that, he sent a rather polite (yet somewhat stern) word back that no; his niece, Mei, would _not _come down to town and into school.

He was perfectly correct, though - Mei was more than happy to stay at the lake._  
_

If you would ask her what she loved most about it, you'd be stuck for a long time as she described _everything _in great cheer. She loved how the summers were warm and welcoming with their bright hints of sunlight, and the colder yet nurturing winters where she stayed inside her uncle's warm home. She was very much content to spend her time with older company - her uncle Quan, Emil, Lovino, Feliciano, Grandpa Romulus, Lukas, Tino, even Berwald and Mathias who were previously unseen before but whom she met several times, and of course, the water buffalo. In all honesty, she did not really long for lessons or the company of other children her age.

However, it was one day when a man came to visit Quan.

When Mei was dancing out of the house as she twirled around, she almost bumped into him. She was rather startled by him just standing outside the door. He had green eyes and brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail.

Upon catching sight of Mei, he gently smiled down at her. "Hello there," he greeted. "You must be Mei - it's okay, there's no need to be scared. I'm an old friend of your uncle's."

Quan himself came out of his cottage right behind her, prompting the little Taiwanese girl to shift herself close to him. Especially because though her uncle offered his hand out to the man with the ponytail, his face was pulled down into a stern expression, and his eyes appeared cold. "We were neighbours once," Quan explained to Mei quietly before prompting her to go back inside the cottage. Once she was inside, Quan then raised his head and stood up straight, "Now, what brings you here, Daniel?"

"I'm pretty sure you know why I've come," the ponytail man, Daniel, replied. "It's about Mei - I can see that she's living in good health and that you're taking such good care of her, but really Quan, you must send the child to school."

Here, Quan snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest, "She is faring very well up here with the water buffalo and the birds. She learns good things from them."

"She may learn good things, but she does not learn _new _things," said Daniel calmly as he tried to coax the Vietnamese man. "She is not a water buffalo or a bird; the time has come to send her to school so she can be with other children. Next winter, she _must _begin schooling."

Quan glowered; his golden eyes glinting dangerously, "I will _not _send her for a number of hours on the steep path through snow and ice, only to struggle the same number of tedious hours to come back home at night. She is only a little girl - she could freeze before reaching halfway."

"That, I agree," Daniel said gently. "You shouldn't send her out in the cold and most especially during storms. You know...perhaps it's time for you to return to the town as well."

Quan grew silent when Daniel finished.

* * *

**_Smoke Catching Fire:_**

If there was something that Emil was sure of with high school in this country, it was that it was just like the climate and the terrain.

Harsh and heated.

After a lesson of Mathematics, Emil had Chemistry and since he was new, had to be assigned a textbook. The Icelandic boy accepted the thick, hard-covered book, and placed it into his bag, feeling the weight sag down, beginning to cause a serious strain on his back. He made his way to recess as soon as the bell rang in a hurried pace – remembering the huge crowd that he and Michelin had narrowly escaped from that morning.

At once, wherever he walked, people would stop with what they were doing, their laughing ceased, and now their stares all fixated upon him. Their whispers creeping into his ears as they continued stabbing their fingers at him, pointing.

Emil felt even more self-conscious and tried to hide the flush that was seeping onto his pale face; he utterly hated being the center of attention – _why _were they even staring at him? He really wasn't that interesting…

He tried to ignore all the pairs of eyes settled upon him as he attempted to eat his apple, but that proved to be a difficult task.

The next two periods were English and Health. And both lessons proved to be worse than Math and Chemistry.

During English, students were studying Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Emil was assigned his book and asked to read his number for recording which one he had, but when he responded, the teacher didn't understand him.

The Icelandic boy had to repeat what he was saying a good several more times before the teacher could finally understand just what he was even saying. By the time it was all over, students were bursting in laughter at Emil's expense.

Emil felt his face go in flames, and he wished desperately that he could just evaporate on the spot.

Health was disturbing and distasteful to him. It seemed that the only thing that Emil could properly hear in the classroom were a bunch of innuendos and rude jokes about a person's private areas, be they male or female.

The Icelandic boy didn't know how many times he turned red, but assuming how he felt his face grow hot every so often, it would probably be many times.

Unfortunately, the boy who showed ill will towards him in the morning, Alex, was in both Emil's English and Health classes, and he proved to be a great nuisance.

_A/N: Because I now am aware of the 2P's, I will use them as villains. In this case, I will have Alex (2P!America) be the antagonist in **Smoke Catching Fire**. Simply because I feel that using OC's are too sloppy._

* * *

**_The Soldier:_**

"That was a sick game out there, Toni!" Gilbert grinned as he smacked his Spanish friend's back. "Really! That move you did; it was awesome!"

Antonio flushed a little with pleasure at the compliment, and he beamed brightly back at his silver-haired companion, "_Muchas gracias_, Gilbert, _mi amigo_! I practised really, _really _hard to perfect that move in time for the big game!"

Francis gave a little chuckle himself while the others were immersing with their ice-creams, "Tell me about it, _mon ami_. I have seen you practice - you are a very determined person."

Antonio simply smiled, "_Si_, I try really hard. Especially if it's something I_ really _care about."

"One Maple walnut and bubblegum cone, one Milo and mango cream, and one strawberry and mint cone?" the clerk asked, though she looked breathless and excited at seeing the three teenage boys.

"_Merci_," Francis said gratefully before giving her a wink. The female clerk swooned so much at this, as the Frenchman took his ice-cream and gave a lick, "Very nice..."

"Mine's awesome, too!" Gilbert flashed a thumbs-up.

Antonio took his and turned around, just ready to take a step, when he suddenly bumped into something hard and a bit _too _unexpectedly.

The next thing the Spaniard knew, his scoop of Milo ice-cream was no longer on the cone, and it was on someone's suit. A rather darkly coloured suit. And to say that the someone who was _wearing _the suit with Antonio's scoop of Milo ice-cream was angry was an understatement.

No...he was _furious_.

"What the fuck?! _You _again?!"

Antonio blinked as he stared in dazed shock at the person who was in front of him - it was that Italian man who he had accidentally bumped into the day that he, Gilbert and Francis skipped classes and went to that diner that served the pancakes. _'It's him! Lovino!'_

Seeing the outraged expression on the Italian's face, and the flames that were dancing in his eyes, Antonio then realized the brown delectable treat that was splattered on the man's rather nice-looking suit. At first, Antonio only stared at it blankly, but when his brain finally processed on what had just happened, the Spaniard gasped, "O-oh! _Lo siento_! I mean! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to get your suit dirty, I-"

"You fucking _dumb_ass!" Lovino snarled angrily; his mood definitely not calmed down as he was handed tissues from his blonde, bespectacled companion. "This was expensive as fuck!"

"And a waste of perfectly good ice-cream," a rather heavyset man with dreadlocks sighed sadly.

"Here! Let me help!" Antonio was handed a bottle of water from Francis who tried to be saving grace to the rather bleak situation. However, Antonio wasn't sure whether it was his eagerness in helping out, or his nervousness in seeing this man again (and _furious _nonetheless), but he suddenly became rather clumsy, and, as a result, he stumbled forward and almost dropped the bottle of water.

Sadly, its contents landed all over Lovino's head.

Lovino's mouth was wide open, and his amber eyes were wide with absolute shock. His two partners both looked astonished as to what just happened, and Francis's jaw dropped in surprise. Gilbert meanwhile was simply licking his ice-cream, obviously enjoying the sweet flavours. Antonio himself was _horrified_ - his mouth was flapping open and close, as he tried to string some words together. "I..." he really did _not _know what to say here. "I...I am _so _sorry...I" And Lovino looked like he was close to exploding, too - his face was becoming redder and redder. Much like a tomato. Well, Antonio could definitely use a tomato at the moment - those were his comfort food after all.

Before the young Spaniard could say anything more, it seemed as if Lovino _did _explode.

"_CHIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!_"


End file.
